EK 1914 EK's with dedications or other engavings

[kunsho]

I want to make here the beginning with an EK I 1914 (unknown manufacturer, could somebody help?) dedicated to an observer "...of his grateful pilot, Reinecke".. I hope here will follow many other pic's after, because unfortunately original engravings became very rare.

Matthias

[kunsho]

...and the mentioned dedication:

[joe campbell]

not a typical dedication, but a dedication nevertheless!

joe

[Bob Hunter]

Nice cross, Joe! That is the first I've seen with a photo on the reverse. Very cool.

[Daniel Murphy]

Kunsho,

Yours could be a "square" MM EK1. I have one with a similar hinge and pin. The small square mark could be on the end of the pin or covered up by the repair to the catch. They are very high quality crosses. The engraved dedication leaves nothing to be desired either.

Joe,

You own that! I saw it in "The Iron Time" and it is a beauty. I have never seen a pin like that, are there any maker marks? All I have is a scratch engraved date on my S-W that came with a German naval officers grouping.

Edited December 29, 2005 by Daniel Murphy

[joe campbell]

dan-

'tis mine. i tried to get the obverse on as well,

but my file photo is too big. i'll have to reshoot it.

it's rather ratty on the front, but interesting how

they put it together. i'll 'splain it when i get more

photos.

scratched in or not, i'd like to see yours!

joe

[Les]

I want to make here the beginning with an EK I 1914 (unknown manufacturer, could somebody help?) dedicated to an observer "...of his grateful pilot, Reinecke".. I hope here will follow many other pic's after, because unfortunately original engravings became very rare.

Matthias

Matthias,

Gibt's zwei Flieger mit die Reinecke-Namen:

http://www.frontflieger.de/3-r-f.html

Les

[Glenn R]

Nice one to a Bavarian.

[Glenn R]

Already posted this elsewhere but here it is again.....

[Tony]

Here are mine, both have been on here before but I like showing them.

Doc Eggert, soldering technician splendiferous going by the job done on the hook.

Tony

[Tony]

And Ltn. Karl.

[Daniel Murphy]

Joe,

While it is in no way as nice as those posted by others, here is mine. It is just a nicely scratch engraved S-W with the date of the award and belonged to a naval officer name unknown.

Dan Murphy

Edited December 29, 2005 by Daniel Murphy

[Bob Hunter]

Anyone have an idea on what the intent of this dedication might be...?

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is the small grouping it came with from Germany.

Dan Murphy

Edited December 29, 2005 by Daniel Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Bob,

I looked this up and it is the motto of the Hay clan in Scotland. It refers to a member of the clan who slew some danish invaders with just an ox yoke. I remembered that Ken Greenfield of Der Rittmeister Militaria had and still has a grouping of an officer that served in the German army for over 30 years including WW1, named Arthur Hay. Here is part of the writeup,

"It concerns a Prussian officer with the unexpected name "Arthur Hay." Hay went from an Unteroffizier in 1886, to at least the rank of Oberstleutnant in 1917. He started in the cavalry and served in both Ulanen, Hussaren and Dragoon regiments prior to the war?s outbreak. He achieved the coveted rank of Rittmeister well before the war began in 1914. As best as I can make out, he went from the cavalry to the infantry [as the war developed, most cavalry fought as dismounted troops. WW I showed once and for all that mounted troops were outmoded]. He served as an infantryman until the end of the war. Hay served at least THIRTY years in uniform. He survived the war and even received the Hindenburg Cross in 1935. There are no less than SIX Promotion Patents, covering him from the ranks of unteroffizier up to major. I do not quite understand why, but two different patents promoting Hay to Rittmeister, with different dates, are included! Of these six patents, no less than THREE have been personally signed by Kaiser Wilhelm II (the two for Rittmeister and the one for Major). Each of these patents is very ornate and hand printed by a skilled calligrapher, with special seals. Also in this grouping are many award documents. We see documents for prewar and wartime decorations. We see documents signed by TWO different dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Of his three wartime decorations, we see the documents for his 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class and his Knight?s Cross with Swords of the Hohenzollern House Order (HHO). The latter document is signed by the Graf Zeppelin, prior to his death in 1917. I have never seen his signature on an award document; having it on an HHO document is a real plus! There are a couple of other documents that I have not described which enhance the grouping. Below is a listing of this amazing grouping?s contents:

Promotion Patent: from Unteroffizier to Portopee F?hnrich, dated 13 November 1886.

Promotion Patent: from Portopee F?hnrich to Second-Lieutenant, dated 17 September 1887. [i find this interesting, note the old-fashioned use of the French rank: "second-lieutenant"].

Promotion Patent: from Second-Lieutenant to Premier-Lieutenant, dated 14 November 1895. I again find it interesting, the old-fashioned use of the French ranks second-lieutenant and premier-lieutenant.

Promotion Patent: from Oberleutnant to Rittmeister, dated 21 January 1902, and personally signed by Kaiser Wilhelm II. [Now we see the change to oberleutnant, as opposed to premier-lieutenant].

Promotion Patent: from Oberleutnant to Rittmeister, dated 10 September 1908, also personally signed by Kaiser Wilhelm II. Why he has a second document for this same rank, I do not fully understand.

Promotion Patent: from Rittmeister to Major, dated 17 September 1909, again with the personal signature of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Award document for the Knight?s Cross with Swords of the Hohenzollern House Order, dated 20 May 1917 while Hay was an oberstleutnant. It is signed by Graf Zeppelin!

Award document for the Prussian Crown Order 4th Class, dated 12 May 1901.

Award document for the Red Eagle Order 4th Class, dated 11 May 1908.

Award document for the Knight?s Cross 2nd Class Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, dated 6 August 1900, and personally signed by Alfred, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Award Document for the Knight?s Cross 1st Class Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, dated 21 August 1908, and personally signed by Carl Eduard, the final Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Award document for the Kaiser Wilhelm I Centennial Medal.

1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class. The document is double-dated. The date 3 November 1914 appears, which is the document's original award date. The document was prepared on 5 June 1916. This either is the document's reissue date, or they were correcting an oversight.

Award document to the Hamburg Hanseatic Cross, dated 12 March 1917.

Award document for the Hindenburg Cross for Combatants, dated 1935.

A helpful reader has done some additional research on Arthur Hay. As you can see from the list below, published research shows that this man eventually achieved the rank of Generalmajor at his retirement in 1919. He was born in 1866 and died in 1940. I only wish that the additional three patents were available. This is still an amazing group and there is an opportunity for further research. This is a wonderful grouping following the very successful military career of a young man who came up from the ranks. It includes three signatures from Kaiser Wilhelm II, two different Dukes from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and a signature from the legendary Graf Zeppelin. We have received some interesting details on this officer from a sharp eyed reader who has done some research. In the book "Hussars and Mounted Rifles....." by D. H. Hagger on page 30 there is a photograph of Oberleutnant Hay as a member of Hussar Regiment Nr 9! It is wonderful to put a face with the name. We thank Chris F. for his research and dilligence!

Sekondelieutenant: 17 Sep 1887

Premierlieutenant: 14 Nov 1895

Rittmeister: 21 Sep 1898

Major: 17 Sep 1909

Oberstleutnant: 24 Dec 1914

Oberst: 6 Nov 1917

Generalmajor aD: 1919

$2,995.00"

As you can see it is expensive. Since he got the HHOXRK, he definitely got the EK1. Would be nice if you can prove it was his. Here is a link to the page.

Arthur Hay

Dan Murphy

[kunsho]

Matthias,

Gibt's zwei Flieger mit die Reinecke-Namen:

http://www.frontflieger.de/3-r-f.html

Les

Hey, thanks a lot, Les!

..and to all researchers there outside: you astonish me again and again !

Matthias

[Bob Hunter]

Dan, thank you very much for the information. That raises a very tantilizing possibility.

[CRBeery]

Here is my one and only. From a Saxon grouping.

[Chris Boonzaier]

So.... any new ones turned up since this posting?

Nice crosses guys!!

[buellmeister]

Gentlemen,

Absloutely unique and beautiful examples! I shall, as well, have an engraved EK1 gracing my medal case someday.

Kind Regards,

Joel

Edited May 27, 2007 by buellmeister